The Ministry of Transport is poised to launch bids on four river ports for investors under the BOT (Borrow Operate Transfer) arrangements. The four ports include one in Cairo and three in other governorates.
Karim Abul Khair, chairman of the General Authority of River Transport, said the authority was conducting a comprehensive examination of the four ports to prepare to offer them to investors under the BOT arrangement within days.
He pointed out that the authority would undertake the task of marketing the ports and other assets. Unlike the General Railway Authority, we will neither hire a private company nor create an independent operation to market the ports and the assets of the General Authority of River Transports, he explained. The Egyptian Railways Authority had created the Egyptian Company for Railway Projects to manage its considerable reserve of assets.
Abul Khair added that the authority has improved river navigation from Cairo to Aswan with a grant of 8 million euros from the Netherlands, noting that development projects in the Egyptian river transport system have the ability to attract both Arab and foreign investments.
